Shrouds for the hull of a boat or ship are known in the prior art, and generally are used to prevent water borne organisms from thriving about and growing upon the hull. Shrouds of this type prevent the decrease in aquadynamic performance caused by such organisms attaching to the hull and increasing aquadynamic drag when the boat is in motion. Further, such shrouds tend to keep the surface of the hull from becoming damaged by water borne organisms, and also eliminate the need for poisonous hull coatings, and the like. Clearly, there are many advantages to such hull shrouds, as is taught in my previous U.S. Pat. No. 5,152,242 issued on Oct. 6, 1992.
While prior art shrouds are suitable for protecting boat hulls, such shrouds to not typically extend inexpensive protection to boat outcroppings such as engine props and rudders. Further, these prior art devices are difficult to install and require complex and time consuming attachment mechanisms. Because outcroppings are usually not protected with anti-fouling coatings such as hull paint, the growth on such outcroppings is more pronounced than on coated hull surfaces. Water organisms grow on such outcroppings just as easily as they grow on hulls, due to the fact that such outcroppings are continuously submerged. Consequently, prior art shrouds are not in great use today.
Clearly, then, a protective covering device is needed to protect boat outcroppings such as motor props and rudders from water borne organisms, including both plant and animal life. Such a needed device would be easy to install and remove from the outcroppings, and would prevent both light and water from entering the protected volume around the outcroppings. Further, such a needed device would be inexpensive to manufacture and would not require professional installation or set-up. The present invention fulfills these needs and provides further related advantages.